Back to 80: My Literary Life

"Brother Xu, I'm sorry, I can't give you this script, I want to shoot it myself." Wong Kar-wai said.

"Oh, you plan to mess up the timeline?!" Tsui Hark immediately understood what Wong Kar-wai meant.

The same script, with a messed up timeline, plus those literary lines, is indeed Wong Kar-wai's favorite.

"But, Kar-wai, if you really want to shoot it that way, it might fail again." As a good friend, he had to remind him.

"Failure? Well. It's possible. Well, let Zhenwei think of a way." Wong Kar-wai said, touching his chin.

A week later, Fang Minghua received a letter from Wong Kar-wai in Hong Kong, thanking him for writing the script, and sent a remittance slip in the name of Zedong Film Company: 100,000 Hong Kong dollars for the script fee.

Fang Minghua naturally didn't know that so many things had happened. It was only when he went to Hong Kong to chat and drink with friends several years later that he talked about this old story.

If, if Tsui Hark really let him shoot it, would it be another "Ashes of Time", as exciting as "Swordsman"?

It was already late October, the weather had turned cold, and Song Tangtang had returned from Yinchuan.

The filming of "A Chinese Odyssey" went smoothly, and it was expected to be completed in mid-December, and then turned to behind-the-scenes production, and it would be shown after the Spring Festival next year.

At noon that day, the weather was good, and the long-lost sunshine finally appeared in the gloomy sky. His wife didn't come back at noon because she was at work, so Fang Minghua sat alone in the yard to bask in the sun after dinner. Suddenly, the phone in the living room rang, and he walked in and picked up the phone.

"Who is this?"

"Minghua, it's me, Pingwa."

"Brother Jia, hello, are you not busy recently?" Fang Minghua greeted with a smile.

"Why not? I'm busy as hell."

It turned out that this year, Jia Pingwa founded the monthly prose magazine "Meiwen".

When he founded the magazine, he claimed: "The purpose of publishing such a magazine is to use our strength to oppose the kind of sweet, flowery, and petty style of writing, advocate the grandeur and integrity of prose, and call for the expansion of the path of prose, so that prose that has become increasingly divided and has sunk into petty style will have a broad path, so we shouted the word "big prose".

Fang Minghua admired his energy.

"Minghua, my "Wasteland" has been officially completed. I want to give it to you to take a look? Give your opinions." Jia Pingwa stated his purpose.

"Okay, I'll wait for you at home."

An hour later, Fang Minghua heard the doorbell outside the door, and when he opened the door, he saw Jia Pingwa standing at the door with a briefcase.

Fang Minghua invited Jia Pingwa to come in and pour him tea, but Jia Pingwa waved his hand and said, "No, I have something else to do, you can take your time to read the manuscript."

"What's the hurry? Have some tea and chat for a while. "Fang Minghua tried to persuade me to stay.

"I don't have that much free time. I have a lot of work to do at work." Jia Pingwa declined and looked at Fang Minghua's courtyard again.

"I still envy you for having such a courtyard, a quiet place in a bustling city."

"Brother Jia, what are you envious of? Once your novel is published, you will have a courtyard."

"Haha, then I'll leave first, thanks to your good wishes. "

After Jia Pingwa left, Fang Minghua picked up the manuscript and read it carefully.

It was not much different from the first draft, and some details were modified.

Fang Minghua read two pages and his eyes suddenly widened.

Oh my God

How come there are suddenly more "□□□□□□ (the author deleted × hundred × ten × words)" in those erotic descriptions!

Fang Minghua originally thought that this was a gimmick made by the publishing house, but it turned out that Jia Pingwa did it himself!

It's really a bit unconventional.

Fang Minghua couldn't help shaking his head.

These two days, Fang Minghua has been looking at Jia Pingwa's manuscript carefully.

Apart from those eye-catching erotic descriptions, this The literary artistry of the novel is relatively high.

The author uses the form of allegory, deformation and exaggeration to transform the changes of intellectuals in the urban environment, and successfully depicts a prosperous and decadent urban picture.

The biggest feature of "Wasteland" is not "yellow" but "gray", a gray world and a gray life.

Fang Minghua suddenly felt that "Wasteland" is very similar to the life described by Keigo Higashino in "White Night Walk": one side is sin, the other side is love; one side is black, the other side is white; one side is righteousness, the other side is evil; one side is obvious, the other side is hidden.

Everyone Everyone is afraid that the sun in their lives will disappear, but some people's lives are always shrouded in darkness, just like the seemingly pure and beautiful Yukiho, who is sinful. The shadow of her dark childhood cannot be removed, so there is no sun in her life, just like walking in the white night.

"Wasteland" at least shows us that in this special and unrepeatable era, there is a group of people walking in the white night - their world is dark; they make sunshine for themselves, superimposing day and night into a gray space; the traces and aspects of their lives together form a gray mark of the times; their sweat and blood are The tears merged into a river, and the flesh and blood condensed into a city wall, that is "Wasteland".

There is no problem with publishing, and it is estimated that it will be a best-seller.

What Fang Minghua is thinking about now is how to avoid repeating the mistakes of "Wasteland" in history after publication, and how to distribute it smoothly?

Appropriately reduce the erotic descriptions in the book?

This is correct, but not enough.

There must also be a correct distribution strategy.

Fang Minghua pondered, and called Jia Pingwa to come to his home a week later.

The temperature has dropped today, and there is a strong wind outside. Xijing stipulates that heating will not be provided until mid-November, but Fang Minghua's home is equipped with air conditioning, so it is still warm.

Soon after hearing the doorbell, Fang Minghua went out to open the door and welcomed Jia Pingwa into the living room.

"Brother Jia, it's so cold, I thought you couldn't come over."

"You summoned me, how could I not come?" Jia Pingwa joked.

"Come, come, have a sip of tea and warm yourself up."

Jia Pingwa sat on the sofa and took two sips of tea before asking: "Minghua, have you finished reading the manuscript?"

"After reading it, let me give you my personal opinion."

"Say it." Jia Pingwa leaned forward, looking like she was listening carefully.

"Did you fill in these □□□□□□ (the author deleted ×hundred

"Yes, I filled it in later, mainly to attract readers' attention." Jia Pingwa explained with a smile: Don't you think that I really wrote these words? "

Fang Minghua shook his head and said, "It's over."

"Passed?"

"Your original intention is to attract readers' attention, but I think this approach is a bit excessive. I think you should not only delete these, but also be more restrained in the erotic descriptions, because I am worried that you The publication of this book will cause public criticism and even anger.”

After listening to this, Jia Pingwa was silent for a moment, seeming a little unconvinced. Suddenly she changed the subject and said, "Minghua, I read "White Deer Plain" which was officially published by Zhongshi."

"oh?"

"The novel is well written, I admire it very much, and it has received a good response from the society. Many critics have praised it and think it is an epic work. However, there are also many erotic descriptions in his book, which I think are very interesting." Even worse than "The Wasted City", why are all his books reviewed positively? "

Fang Minghua did not answer but asked:

"Brother Jia, didn't you find the biggest difference between your two books?"

"What's the difference?" Jia Pingwa asked subconsciously.